{"id":19798,"date":"2026-10-01T21:51:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=19798"},"modified":"2026-10-01T21:51:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:51:23","slug":"dg-ispr-presents-retired-pakistani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/10\/01\/dg-ispr-presents-retired-pakistani\/","title":{"rendered":"DG ISPR presents retired Pakistani soldier alive after India claims he was killed in Kashmir"},"content":{"rendered":"

DG ISPR presents retired Pakistani soldier alive after India claims he was killed in Kashmir<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says Indian account was fabricated; former SSG commando Muhammad Asif rejects allegations of involvement in cross-border terrorism<\/p>\n

ISLAMABAD: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Thursday presented a retired Pakistan Army soldier before the media after Indian authorities and media outlets claimed that he had been killed during an encounter in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ISPR<\/a> chief identified the man as retired Havildar Muhammad Asif, a former Special Services Group (SSG) commando, and said his presence before the media contradicted the Indian account that a militant named Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa had been killed during a security operation.<\/p>\n

Addressing a press conference, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the episode began on the night of September 29 when the Indian Corps announced on social media that a joint search operation had been launched in the Korag-Yousmarg area.<\/p>\n

According to the Indian account cited by the DG ISPR, one terrorist was subsequently reported to have been killed.<\/p>\n

Around seven hours later, the Indian Army reportedly issued another update claiming that the body of a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant identified as Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa had been recovered from the Palmaidan area along with war-like stores.<\/p>\n

The ISPR chief said Indian news agency ANI subsequently published a detailed profile of the alleged militant, claiming that he had been born on March 7, 1980, joined the Pakistan Army in 2000 under service number PA-3106947 and retired as a Havildar.<\/p>\n

The report further claimed that he had joined the SSG in 2005, served with the 4 Commando Yalgar Battalion, was posted to Balochistan from 2006 and had participated in around 10 operations against Baloch insurgents. It also attributed 13 kills to him and claimed that he had served on the VVIP security team of former president Pervez Musharraf between 2006 and 2009.<\/p>\n

Lt Gen Chaudhry said the development was reminiscent of previous Indian narratives surrounding incidents such as Uri, Pahalgam and Pulwama.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might be recalling Uri, Pahalgam and Pulwama \u2014 a very interesting story is being cooked, and the story is now complete,\u201d he said, adding that evidence was available to substantiate Pakistan\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

He then brought Muhammad Asif before the assembled journalists.<\/p>\n

\u2018I am alive and well\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking at the press conference, Asif said he belonged to Tehsil Pindigheb in Attock district and was at home when he learned that Indian media outlets were reporting his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday evening, I received phone calls from friends informing me that Indian media and social media platforms were reporting that the Indian Army had killed me in an encounter in Kashmir,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them that I was alive and well, sitting at home, Alhamdulillah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asif said he subsequently received calls from unidentified Indian numbers asking about his personal details and whether he was related to the person named in the reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI repeatedly blocked those numbers. Shortly afterwards, I saw news broadcasts showing my photograph and personal military record, claiming that I had been martyred in Kashmir,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was utterly astonished. I was sitting at home, yet they were claiming to have killed me in Kashmir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asif said he contacted his former unit leadership to clarify that he was safe and at home.<\/p>\n

He said his former colleagues advised him to block the calls and informed him that ISPR officials would contact him to establish the facts.<\/p>\n

According to Asif, he confirmed his identity and whereabouts when contacted by ISPR and agreed to appear publicly to clarify the matter.<\/p>\n

He said he had joined the Pakistan Army’s Artillery Corps in 2000 and subsequently joined the SSG in 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cI served with honour and dedication for 18 years before retiring in 2023,\u201d he said, adding that he worked for three years with a private security company following his retirement.<\/p>\n

He said he had since returned home and was running a small business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe allegations made by India against me and my country \u2014 claiming that I was involved in cross-border terrorism \u2014 are entirely false, fabricated and baseless,\u201d Asif said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI strongly condemn these lies propagated by the Indian media.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holding up his identification documents, he said: \u201cAlhamdulillah, I am alive and standing before you today. There is no doubt about my identity. I have my official CNIC and military identity documents with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asif said his military training had prepared him to confront adversaries directly and with courage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always been ready to defend my motherland, and I remain ready today. My life belongs to this nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

DG ISPR accuses India of \u2018externalising\u2019 internal problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lt Gen Chaudhry also accused India of supporting militant organisations operating against Pakistan, saying Islamabad had repeatedly raised concerns over alleged Indian involvement in terrorism.<\/p>\n

He said there were multiple reasons behind what he described as Indian \u201cfalse-flag\u201d narratives and accused New Delhi of attempting to attribute its internal problems to Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The DG ISPR said India could not \u201cexternalise\u201d what he described as its problems of oppression and alleged human-rights abuses in IIOJK by blaming Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have any evidence of Pakistan\u2019s involvement in any incident, provide it,\u201d he said, adding that Pakistan had previously offered to examine evidence through a third party.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease get out of this obsession with Pakistan. You have your internal issues, you have your own problems \u2014 deal with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The military spokesperson also criticised what he described as India’s growing emphasis on an \u201cencounter\u201d narrative, saying incidents were frequently presented as having Pakistani links regardless of the facts.<\/p>\n

He said references to Pakistani personnel, including former SSG soldiers, were incorporated into such narratives.<\/p>\n

Referring to incidents including Uri, Pathankot and Rajouri, Lt Gen Chaudhry questioned what he called the repeated reliance on encounter-based narratives.<\/p>\n

\u201cGradually, you only become \u2014 from Hindustan, they have turned it into \u2018Encounter-stan\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also questioned how senior military commanders could approve claims that, according to Pakistan, lacked factual basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has happened to this professional army?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The DG ISPR further criticised what he described as India’s efforts to control the domestic information environment, saying that such narratives could not necessarily be imposed on international audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world has seen through that shine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also accused Indian military institutions of becoming involved in political narratives, saying armed forces should not be used to advance political messaging.<\/p>\n

Pakistan committed to Saudi defence agreement<\/p>\n

Responding to questions about Pakistan’s defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to the security of the Kingdom and the holy sites.<\/p>\n

He said operational details of defence cooperation under the Makkah agreement were confidential and could not be disclosed publicly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur commitment to the security of the Haramain Sharifain is absolute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The DG ISPR said Pakistan was prepared to take all necessary measures to protect the holy sites and the security of Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

He also stressed that Pakistan would take every necessary step to safeguard its own national security and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be no compromise whatsoever on Pakistan\u2019s security and protection of its geographical borders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The military spokesperson added that Pakistan’s armed forces remained prepared to respond to threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they want to do something, let them. We are always prepared,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

DG ISPR declines political questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asked about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), its planned long march and party founder Imran Khan, Lt Gen Chaudhry declined to comment on political matters.<\/p>\n

He said political affairs were the domain of political parties and elected governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics is for political parties. Politicians and political parties form governments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The DG ISPR reiterated that the armed forces would not comment on political issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe armed forces of Pakistan are subject to the Constitution and abide by the orders of the state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said Pakistan had been fighting terrorism for two decades and remained among the countries most severely affected by terrorism.<\/p>\n

Lt Gen Chaudhry stressed that the fight against terrorism should not be compromised for political interests<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, the most important thing is that if there is a state, there is politics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DG ISPR presents retired Pakistani soldier alive after India claims he was killed in Kashmir Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says Indian account was fabricated; former SSG commando Muhammad Asif rejects allegations of involvement in cross-border terrorism ISLAMABAD: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Thursday presented a retired Pakistan Army […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2297,2298],"tags":[2412,4106],"class_list":["post-19798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-pakistan","tag-ispr","tag-lt-gen-ahmed-sharif-chaudhry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19798"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19800,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19798\/revisions\/19800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}